Matt Reicher
Bio
Historian for The Streets of St. Paul and Minnesota Then. I'm using this platform to share stories about Minnesota history and whatever else (or wherever else) I find interesting at the time.
Stories (28/0)
Kidnapping of Hamm's Brewery President William Hamm Jr. (June 15-19, 1933)
As William Hamm Jr. was walking from his office to have lunch with his mother, he was abducted by the Barker-Karpis Gang. At about 12:45 PM on June 15, 1933, four men seized the grandson of Theodore Hamm near Greenbrier Street and Minnehaha Avenue East in Saint Paul and pushed him into a black sedan. Hamm was forced to lie down on the floor of the car and a white hood was placed over his head. The car then drove off.
By Matt Reicher13 days ago in Criminal
The Hanging of the Dakota 38 (December 26, 1862)
“We have waited a long time. The money is ours, but we cannot get it. We have no food, but here are these stores, filled with food. We ask that you, the agent, make some arrangement by which we can get food from the stores, or else we may take our own way to keep ourselves from starving. When men are hungry they help themselves” ~ Taoyateduta (Little Crow), 1862
By Matt Reicher15 days ago in FYI
August Schell (1828 - 1891)
August Schell came to newly established New Ulm, Minnesota, to help prop up a struggling German-American immigrant community. He began a brewery while living there. Despite having to navigate several pioneer-era challenges, he prospered. A self-made man, his generosity and thoughtfulness, as well as his love of the outdoors, shone through during his lifetime.
By Matt Reicher29 days ago in FYI
Prostitution Sting at John’s Bar and Funhouse in NE Minneapolis (1953)
John's Bar and Funhouse, formerly located at 2500 Marshall Ave NE in Northeast Minneapolis, was one of many saloons that once occupied the location on the corner of Lowry and Marshall since 1905. It was a popular local bar that opened in 1946, one which found itself at the center of a scandal in 1953 that rocked the city of Minneapolis and the Midwest as a whole.
By Matt Reicher29 days ago in FYI
Gramma B's in NE Minneapolis (1979 - 1984)
Gramma B's opened for business at 1900 Marshall St NE in Northeast Minneapolis in December 1979. To open his own place, its owner, 31-year-old Tony Benincasa, sold his stake in Goofy's, a bar located near downtown Minneapolis. Its history showed an immensely popular, albeit rough place, loved by a rowdy bar crowd and reviled by the surrounding neighborhood.
By Matt Reicherabout a month ago in 01
American Civil Rights Activist Fred Korematsu (1919 - 2005)
Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland, California, on January 30, 1919. After graduating high school, he worked as a shipyard welder, a job he was fired from after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. That horrific attack turned the United States against its Japanese-American citizens.
By Matt Reicherabout a month ago in FYI
The Bombing of Downtown St. Paul's Dayton's Department Store (August 22, 1970)
When Mary Peek and her husband Roland went to dinner at the downtown St. Paul Dayton’s Department store restaurant on Saturday August 22, 1970, neither envisioned that the events of the day would forever change both of their lives.
By Matt Reicherabout a month ago in Criminal
The Murder of St. Paul Police Officer James Sackett
On May 21, 1970, twenty-seven-year-old St. Paul Patrolman James Sackett, only on the job eighteen months, returned to work after enjoying a short paternal leave after the birth of his fourth child. Sackett's professional life was the fulfillment of his lifelong ambitions. Shortly after midnight, Sackett was murdered while responding to a call to help a pregnant woman.
By Matt Reicherabout a month ago in Criminal
Civil Rights Activist Irene Morgan Kirkaldy (1917-2007)
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’d paid for my seat. I was sitting where I was supposed to… [The sheriff’s deputy] grabbed me. That’s when I kicked him in a very bad place. He hobbled off, and another one came on.” ~ Irene Morgan Kirkaldy
By Matt Reicher2 months ago in Journal
